Core Plus Overview

Core Plus represents an enhanced career field certification and development framework designed to guide acquisition professionals to competency development beyond the minimum standards required for certification, based on specific types of assignments within an acquisition function/career field. Core Plus is best illustrated as three concentric circles.

The center of the target, Core Acquisition Certification, represents the broad range of competencies that are common across the DOD AT&L workforce. The inner ring, Core Functional Certification, represents those core specialized competencies that relate to one or more of the 14 acquisition career fields. The Core Acquisition Certification and Core Functional certification competencies are required for career field certification.

The outer ring, Core Plus, represents additional training beyond that required for certification for specific types of job assignments in a particular acquisition career field.

Core Plus will continue to evolve as the concept matures. It is very a flexible, robust framework that is adaptable to the specific needs of the workforce. Learning assets can be modularized to specifically target workforce requirements, just in time, and potentially delivered in a variety of different modes based on workforce members’ learning style and preference.

Core Plus Introduction

The Core Plus construct was designed to advance the DoD AT&L competency management model by providing a “roadmap” for the development of acquisition workforce members beyond the minimum certification standards required for their position.  Accordingly, the Core Certification and Core Plus Developmental Guides provided in this appendix provide the acquisition workforce member a listing of the:

•           Core Certification Standards by acquisition career field and level; as well as
•           “Core Plus” knowledge and skills that are delivered through coursework target functions or tasks directly related to specific types of job assignments. 

Core Plus helps identify the right learning for the right people at the right time during their professional development.  It does this by connecting workforce members not only to their career field and level but also to their particular job assignment needs.  Core Plus also identifies targeted training that relates to specific tasks in a given assignment type.  As Core Plus matures, you can expect:

•           “scrap learning,” i.e., wasted or irrelevant course content, to be minimized;
•           repetitive course content to be minimized;
•           the development of more well-rounded acquisition core coursework;
•           shorter functional courses required for certification;
•           an increase in modular course content;
•           an increase in courses targeted to workforce job assignments; and
•           more flexibility, focus, and guidance in the construction of Individual Development Plans (IDPs).

Finally, keep in mind that unlike certification training, there is no deadline to complete Core Plus training other than what your supervisor specifies and what you need to meet your continuous learning standards.  Competency development requires a mixture of training and job experience. Pace your training while you practice your profession on the job.

Navigating the Guides

Similar to the former career field certification standards, there is a Core Certification and Core Plus Development Guide for each career field at each level—Level I (Entry), Level II (Intermediate), and Level III (Advanced).

Each guide, as displayed in the sample on page 97, is also broken down into at least four, and perhaps five, major sections:

•           Types of Assignments
•           Core Certification Standards
•           Unique Position Training Standards (if applicable)
•           Core Plus Development Guide
•           Footnotes

Types of Assignments.  Subject matter experts in their respective acquisition career fields have grouped the fundamental types of work associated with the career field/path into one or more types of assignments.  Included is a brief description of the representative activities that best describe the assignment type.  Regardless of your position title, you should be able to associate the work you generally perform with one of the assignment types listed.  While the assignment types are consistent across all three levels, the representative activities will vary from one level to another.

Core Certification Standards.  Each acquisition position within DoD is assigned a position category (career field/path) and a certification level that is required of the incumbent. This part of the guide outlines the minimum standards that must be met by the incumbent in order to meet the certification requirements of DoDD 5000.52, Defense Acquisition Education, Training, and Career Development Program.  The competencies gained from fulfilling these requirement are fundamental to successful performance in the career field or path at the stated level.

To achieve certification, the requirements in each the following core areas must be met:

•           Core Acquisition Training Standards
•           Core Functional Training Standards
•           Core Education Standards
•           Core Experience Standards

All of the elements identified in the standard must be met before an acquisition workforce member apply for certification through his or her DoD Component processes.  Workforce members have 24 mo from the time they assume an acquisition position to meet these standards. The 24-month period also applies if the position category or level required of encumbered position changes.

Unique Position Training Standards.  Some career fields have additional requirements between the Core Certification Standards and the Core Plus Development Guide.  When applicable, this section identifies a unique type of assignment with associated training requirement that should or must be met when assigned to the specific type of duty.  When present, there is always a footnote that amplifies the requirement.  Coursework listed in this section is not required to meet certification stands.

Core Plus Development Guide
The Core Plus Development Guide is intended to assist employees and their supervisors in preparing an IDP by identifying training, education, and experience beyond certification requirements that may be beneficial to career development or performance in a particular type of assignment the initial deployment of Core Plus, most career have identified recommended training for broad of assignments in the career field.  DAU courses are listed by an alphanumeric designator with resident classroom and distance learning courses listed first followed by continuous learning modules.

Footnotes
Each Guide contains two or more footnotes.  Footnotes are not necessarily consistent across guides and levels.  Be particularly observant of footnotes:

• In the Auditing career field;
• When the guide displays a Purple Unique Position Training Standards section (Auditing, Contract and Program Management); and
• When there are fewer than three levels in the career field (Facilities Engineering; Purchasing; and Systems Planning, Research, Development and Engineering—Science and Technology Manager).

Constructing Your Individual Development Plan

If you have not met the certification standards for your position, the courses listed in the Core Certification Standards section for your career field and level should be your highest priority, followed by those certification courses at the lower levels as appropriate.  From there, you and your supervisor should consider the training activities listed in the Core Plus Development Guide for your career field and level as well as the lower levels if you have not completed those activities.  You should next consider higher-level of   guides as well as the guides of other career fields as opportunities to broaden your development.

It is important to note that these guides should not be considered all-inclusive when constructing your IDP.  There are other competencies associated with training, education, and experience activities that should be addressed when constructing your IDP with your supervisor. For example, the Ethics Training for AT&L Workforce (CLM 003) continuous learning module is not addressed in the guides because it is not unique to any career field or level. However, this is a course that should appear on your IDP annually.  And, of course, your IDP should always include professional development outside acquisition, such as executive skills development, conference participation, etc.

You are not expected to accomplish everything listed in the Core Plus Development Guide; it is provided as a menu from which to select training applicable to your situation.  You and your supervisor should select the training that applies to your duties, program tasks, and skill development needs.  The guide helps you find relevant training easily.

 Certification & Core Plus Development Guides

Welcome to the Defense Acquisition University’s Interactive Catalog version of the DoD Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (AT&L) career field Certification & Core Plus Development Guides. The career field guides on this site represent the most current career field certification standards required of DoD AT&L workforce personnel depending on the career field/path and level (I, II, or III) assigned to the workforce member's acquisition position. It also represents the most current recommendations for continuing training and education depending on the workforce member's type of assignment within their career field/path. Select your guide either from the menu on the left or from the table below.

Changes to the Certification & Core Plus Development Guides: 

The Certification and Core Plus Development Guides were initially implemented on October 1, 2007. While changes to the certification standards are normally implemented on October 1, 2007 of any given year, other aspects of the guide, in particular the Core Plus component may be modified throughout the year. Besides linking directly to the guide listed, the table below identifies the date of the most recent publishing.